Enclosure



March 17, 1959 H. H. KOBRYNER ENCLOSURE Filed Dec. 17, 1956 2Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY ww March 17, 1959 H. H. KQBRYNER ENCLOSURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Dec. 17, 1956 IN V EN T OR.

2,877,919 1 Patented Mar. 17, 1959 ENCLOSURE Herman H. Kohryner, ForestHills, N. Y.,assignor to Murray Manufacturing Corporation, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Application December 17, 1956, Serial No. 628,656 14 Claims. (Cl.220-33) This invention relates to an enclosure, preferably, although notnecessarily, for electrical equipment, such as switches, fuses, etc.,and particularly to an enclosure adapted to be mounted in a locationwhere it is subjected to outdoor weather conditions.

More specifically, this invention relates to a raintight enclosure; i.e., one which prevents the entry of rain or the like into its interior.

It is a requirement of the industry that enclosures for electricalswitches, fuses and the like, be provided with a door which is hinged,slidably mounted, or similarly attached, so as to prevent its beingremoved. Generally, there are three types of door mountings whichfulfill this requirement. The first type of mounting comprises a doorhinged at its upper edge so that the door is swung in the verticaldirection. This type of door mounting has several disadvantages, thechief being that if rust or ice is formed on the hinges, it is diflicultto open the door without the aid of a tool, such as a crow-bar or screwdriver. Further the cover in the raised position is hazardous to oneworking with the equipment contained within the enclosure. For example,the open end of the door may accidentally fall causing injury to thehands of the user. This problem is particularly acute when the door isof substantial weight. In the latter case, some means are usuallyprovided to latch the door in the raised position to prevent accidentalclosing. However, such latches are usually expensive and are not alwayssatisfactory for mechanical reasons. More over, it is diflicult todesign such means which permits convenient operation and yet resists thetendency to collapse if accidentally jarred by the electrician duringthe process of wiring.

The second type of door mounting is the type in which the door is swungup to approximately horizontal position and then pushed back along aslide or slots so provided that the door is prevented from swinging downuntil it is again pulled forward. This type of door suffers from all thedisadvantages of the type discussed above.

Further, top-hinged covers are held in about a horizontal position whenopened because wiring conduits, hinge and support designs interfere withfull opening flat against the wall. In many cases the enclosure ismounted so close to the ceiling that such full opening of a top-hingedcover is impossible. It is obvious therefore, that large covers openedto the horizontal position are not only hazardous but also are in theelectricians way.

The third type of door mounting utilizes hinges mounted on a side of thedoor so that the door swings in a horizontal direction. This type ofdoor mounting is eminently more satisfactory than either of the abovearrangements. In opening the door the weight of the door is supported bythe hinges and it is not required to lift this weight as it is in theother types of mountings. If rust or ice is formed on the hinges, themovement of the door is usually enough to overcome the frictional 1forces produced thereby. However, in making such an enclosurerain-tight, special hinges are required which permit sliding the doorupward under a cover flange after the door is closed. In sucharrangements, a spring catch is required to latch the door in the raisedposition. Thus, the spring catch supports the entire weight of the door.This type of arrangement then, suffers many of the disadvantagesassociated with the vertically slidable door described hereinabove.Further, the sliding hinges which are required fail more frequently thanthe conventional hinge because the hinge pin is subjected to bend ingand shear strains, rather than to shear only, as in the conventionalarrangement.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention, to provide an enclosure,entirely free of hazards to the operator during opening, closing, wiringor fuse changing, requiring no special hinges, and which is efiective inpreventing rain or the like from entering the interior thereof.

It is a feature of this invention to provide a novel door constructionwhich permits the upper edge thereof to be located, when closed, under aroof-like cover of the enclosure.

In accordance with an aspect of this invention, there is provided anenclosure in the form of a box having back, side and bottom walls, coverand door. The cover is equipped with flanges which overlie upperportions of the side walls and door, and the door is equipped withflanges which overlie forward portions of the side and bottom walls. Thedoor comprises an upper member superposed over and slidable on a lowermember, whereby when it is desired to open the door, the upper member isdepressed relative to the lower member thereby reducing the overallheight of the door until the upper edge thereof is below the lower edgeof the cover. In this position, the door may be pivoted on its sidehinges to an open position. Means are provided tomaintain the uppermember in its depressed position while the door is open and to permitthe upper member to return to its normal position when the door isclosed.

The above objects and features will become more explicit when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the enclosure with the door closed;

Fig. 2 is a similar perspective view of the enclosure with the dooropen;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a locking means associated with theenclosure;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the interior of the door, showing indetail a mounting arrangement of the component parts thereof; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an arrangement for maintaining theheight of the door while the door is open.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, there is illustrated an enclosure,preferably, although not necessarily, for electrical equipment, such asswitches or fuses, which is capable of preventing rain or the like fromentering the interior thereof.

The enclosure, in the form of abox, comprises side walls 1, 2, back andbottom walls 3 and 4 respectively, top cover 5 and door 6. The cover 5includes side and front flanges 7 and 8 respectively, formed preferablyintegral with the top portion of the cover 5. The flanges are of suchlength as to overlie the upper portions of the side walls and door whilethe door is in the closed position as shown in Fig. l. The front portionof the cover 5 is slightly longer than the rear portion for reasonswhich will be obvious from the discussion which follows.

The door 6 includes side and bottom flanges 9, 10 and 11 overlyingforward portions of the side walls 1, 2 and bottom wall 4 respectively.

The construction of the door 6, which is best seen in Fig. 4, consistsessentially of two superposed members 12 and 13; the upper member 13being superposed over the lower member. In accordance with an importantaspect of this invention, the door 6 is adjustable in its overall heightto permit the upper edge thereof to underlie the front flange 8 of coverwhile the door is in its closed position (Fig. 1).

This adjustability is attained by slidably mounting the upper member 13on the lower member 12 and urging the members in opposite directions sothat the normal position of the door is one of maximum height. For thispurpose, a pair of shouldered pins or rivets 14, 15 are rigidly attachedto the upper member 13. Complementary vertical channel grooves 16 and 17are formed in the upper portion of the lower member 12. The lateraldimension of the openings 16 and 17 is less than the diameter of theshoulders on pins 14, 15, in order to maintain a slidable, contiguousrelationship between the members 12 and 13. The members 12 and 13, andtherefore the door 6, are properly urged to the desirable height bymeans of a wire spring 18 centrally supported in a struck-out cradleportion 19 of member 12. The opposite ends of the spring 18 are deformedto bear against the lower portion of the pins 14 and 15 respectively, toexert thereon an upward force relative to the lower member 12.

The door 6 is hinged, as best seen in Fig. 1, at its flange 10, to theside wall 1 by means of hinges 20; the hinges being attached to therespective parts by any suitable means, such as screws or spot welding.

Thus, while the door 6 is in its closed position the upper member 13 isin its uppermost position relative to the lower member 12 due to theaction of the spring 18, and its upper edge underlies the flanges 7 and8 of the cover 5. In this position, the enclosure offers maximumprotection against the admittance of rain because the roof-like cover 5overlaps the upper portions of the side walls 1, 2 and door 6, the uppermember 13 overlaps the lower member 12, and the door overlaps theforward portions of the side walls 1, 2 and bottom wall 4.

When it is desired to open the door 6, the upper member 13 is manuallydepressed relative to the lower member 12 until the upper edge of member13 is below the lower edge of the cover flanges 7 and 8. The door isthen pivoted on its hinges 20 to open the interior of the box as shownin Fig. 2. To facilitate lowering the upper member 13, a handle 21isprovided, mounted on the member 13. By way of example, the handle 21 ismounted in lugs 22, 23 which are struck-out of the member 13.

Referring now to Fig. 2, showing the door in its open position, theupper member 13 is prevented from assuming its normally urged positionby action of a stop, bearing on the upper edge of member 13. The stopcomprises a skirt 24, which extends perpendicularly from the side flange7 of cover 5, and is positioned to bear on the upper edge of member 13throughout the travel of the door when the door is open.

In Fig. 2, the skirt 24 is shown integral with the cover 5. However, asshown in Fig. 5, a skirt 25 may be part of a separate Z-shaped member26. The oppositely disposed flange 27 of tbp Z-shaped member is rigidlyattached to the cover'fii by any suitable means, such as bolts 23.

Referring now to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, positive locking means is shown tomaintain the door 6 in its closed position. The locking means comprisesan L-shaped latch 29, attached to the upper member 13, and a cooperatingfixed post 30 attached to the side wall 2. The free end of the verticalleg of the latch 29 is fixedly attached to the member 13 by means ofspot welding, indicated at 31, and similarly the post 30 is spot weldedto the side 4 wall 2 as indicated at 32 (Fig. 2). The latch 29substantially lies in a plane parallel to the plane of the door 6. Thebase portionthereof 33 projects beyond the side flange 9 of the door 6and includes a lip portion 34 for engagement with a slot 35 formed inthe post 30. There is suflicient flexibility in the latch 29 to permitthe base portion 33, and thus lip 34, to follow the curved contour ofthe slot 35 during the upward movement of the member 13. The latch 29 isnormally positioned relative to the post 30 so that the lip 34 slides intension against the forward contour of the slot 35, and therefore isurged into the notch 36 provided at the end of the slot 35, to effectpositive engagement between the latch 29 and the post 30.

The latch 29 is retained in generally fixed spaced relationship withrespect to the door 6 and post 30 by means of a shouldered pin 41fixedly attached to the door 6 riding in a vertically extending groove42. The shoulder or head of pin 41 is of larger diameter than the widthof the groove 42 thereby preventing the latch from being accidentallybent out of proper position with regard to the post 30.

If it is desired to lock the door 6 in the closed position, an aperturedear 37 is provided which is formed by bending the free end portion ofthe base perpendicularly to the plane thereof. Toward the forward end ofthe post 30, there is provided an aperture 38 which is aligned with theaperture 39 in ear 37, when the door 6 is closed and the upper member 13is fully urged, as in its normal position. In this position a lock maybe inserted in the aligned apertures 38, 39 to prevent unauthorizedopening of the door.

To open the door, the latch 29 must be depressed so that the lip portion34 lies below the lower edge 40 of the post 30. The length of the slot35 is preferably approximately the same length as the overlap of thecover flanges 7, 8 over member 13, so that when the lip 34 clears thelower edge 40 of the post 30, the upper edge of member 13 clears thelower edge of the flanges 7 and 8.

If it is desired to bolt the enclosure to a wall, e. g., an externalwall of a building, apertured mounting lugs 43 and 44 are providedattached to the back wall 3.

While there is described herein the principles of construction of theinvention together with an embodiment thereof, it will be understoodthat the apparatus disclosed is only illustrative and that other meansand apparatus may be employed without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An enclosure in the form of a box having back, side and bottom walls,top cover and door, said cover comprising side and front flangesoverlying upper portions of said side walls and door, said doorcomprising upper and lower members and having flanges along the sidesand bottom thereof overlying forward portions of said side and bottomwalls, means slidably mounting said upper member over said lower member,the extent of slidable travel being such that at the uppermost positionthe upper edge of said upper member is overlapped by said cover flangesand at the lowermost position the upper edge of said upper member isbelow the lower side of said cover flanges, spring means tendingnormally to urge said upper member under said cover flanges, meanshinging said door to one of said side walls, a latch, means attachingsaid latch to said upper slidable member, a post member for engagingsaid latch when said upper member is in its normally urged position, andmeans attaching said post to one of said side walls whereby when it isdesired to open said door, the upper member is moved downwardly againstthe action of said spring means until the upper edge tiereof lies belowthe lower edge of said cover flanges and the door is pivoted open on itshinges.

2. The enclosure according to claim 1, wherein said latch is in the formof an L and lies substantially in a plane parallel to the plane of saiddoor, the base of the L projecting beyond said door and including a lipformed on the upper edge thereof, said post member extendingperpendicularly to the base of the L and including a slot having aconfiguration adapted to engage said lip when said upper member is inits normally urged position; and further comprising a handle attached tosaid upper member to facilitate movement thereof.

3. The enclosure according to claim 1, wherein said means slidablymounting said upper member over said lower member comprises at least twopins attached to said upper member and slidable in respective verticalgrooves formed in the upper portion of said lower member, the

length of said grooves determining the extent of slidable travel,whereby the upper member is maintained in slid ing contiguous relationwith said lower member.

4. The enclosure according to claim 3, wherein said spring meanscomprises an elongated wire spring centrally mounted on said lowermember at a level slightly above said pins when said upper member is inits normally urged position, the opposite ends of said spring bearing inflexure against the lower portions of said pins, thereby tending to urgesaid upper member upward relative to said lower member.

5. The enclosure according to claim 4, wherein said lower membercomprises a cradle for supporting said spring, said cradle being locatedintermediate the grooves.

6. The enclosure according to claim 1, and further comprising a skirtflange extending from and perpendicularly to the plane of said side wallon which said door is hinged, said skirt flange extending slightly belowthe lower edge of the cover flanges, whereby when the upper member ofsaid door is depressed and the door is pivoted away from the enclosure,the upper member is maintained in its depressed position by said skirtflange bearing against the upper edge of said upper member.

7. The enclosure according to claim 6, wherein said skirt flange isintegral with said cover and extends from a side flange thereof.

8. The enclosure according to claim 6, wherein said skirt flange is partof a Z-shaped member and means fixedly attaching the oppositely disposedflange of said Z-shaped member to a top portion of said cover.

9. A rain-tight enclosure in the form of a box having back, side andbottom walls, top cover and door, said cover comprising side and frontflanges overlying upper portions of said side walls and door, said doorcomprising upper and lower members and having flanges along the sidesand bottom thereof overlying forward portions of said side and bottomwalls; means slidably mounting said upper member over said lower membercomprising a pair of spaced shouldered pins attached to said uppermember and slidable in respective vertical grooves formed in the upperportion of said lower member, the width of each groove being less thanthe diameter of the associated shoulder, the length of said groovesdetermining substantially the extent of slidable travel and being suchthat at the uppermost position the upper edge of said upper member isoverlapped by said cover flanges and at the lowermost position the upperedge of said upper member is below the lower edge of said cover flanges;spring means tending normally to urge said upper member under said coverflanges comprising an elongated wire spring centrally mounted on saidlower member at a level slightly above said pins when said upper memberis in its normally urged position, the opposite ends of said springbearing in tension against the lower portions of said pins; meanshinging said door to one of said side walls; and a skirt flangeextending from and perpendicularly to the plane of said side wall onwhich said door is hinged and extending slightly below the lower edge ofthe cover flanges, whereby when the upper member of said door isdepressed to its lowermost position against the action of said springand the door is pivoted away from the enclosure the upper member ismaintained in its depressed position by said skirt flange bearingagainst the upper edge of said upper member.

10. The enclosure according to claim 9, and further comprising a latch,means rigidly attaching said latch to said upper slidable member, a postmember for engaging said latch when said upper member is in its normallyurged position, and means attaching said post to one of said side walls.

11. The enclosure according to claim 10, wherein said latch is in theform of an L and lies substantially in a plane parallel to the plane ofsaid door, the base of the L projecting beyond said door and including alip formed on the upper edge thereof, said post member extendingperpendicularly to the base of the L and including a slot having aconfiguration adapted to engage said lip when said upper member is inits normally urged position; and further comprising a handle attached tosaid upper member to facilitate movement thereof.

12. The enclosure according to claim 9, wherein said lower membercomprises a cradle for supporting said spring, said cradle being locatedintermediate the grooves.

13. The enclosure according to claim 9, wherein said skirt flange isintegral with said cover and extends from a side flange thereof.

14. The enclosure according to claim 9, wherein said skirt flange ispart of a Z-shaped member and means fixedly attaching the oppositelydisposed flange of said Z-shaped member to a top portion of said cover.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,311,273 Hackbrit July 29, 1919 1,865,902 Grunwald July 5, 19322,329,349 Johansson Sept. 14, 1943 2,717,064 Hock Sept. 6, 1955

